Of Korean Dorm Life

Up until now, I realize I've never said anything about my living conditions while in Korea. They're homely, for sure. Although without the kind of wall decorations I have at 'SC to make it my true home away from home, it actually feels a bit more like an apartment in need of artistry. (Grey skies as of late don't help matters in that regard.)

Anyway, my dorm room itself is, if it weren't crooked, laid out in a similar way to my old dorm room my freshman year at 'SC. Even so, it's pretty similar, as you can see here, although note the glass door in the back leads to a small balcony (please excuse the mess my roommate and I have left in our exhausted wakes):



Also, we have something most of the dorms at 'SC don't have in our room: CENTRAL A/C! The problem (for me, anyway) is that my desk is positioned so that I'm conveniently situated directly under the vent, so whenever it's on I'm always the first to freeze. At least I know it works!

Unlike the dorms at 'SC, where communal bathrooms are common, we have our own, individual bathroom in the dorm room itself. It doesn't look like much, but it's convenient...



You'll notice there's a random shower head snaking out from the sink--this entire space also doubles as our shower stall. Hao-Hua was concerned about privacy, even though the glass wall is tempered to the point where it covers up *just enough*. Problem is, with our (read: his) relatively tall height, we can see over the top of the tempered part and into the back mirror (depending on how close to the glass we are). On the bright side, if we're showering, it usually fogs up the back mirror enough where it doesn't matter. Still...design fail? Perhaps.

Another thing that's a bother (but could lead to possible comedic gold): you turn the sink on, then pull up on a small button to activate the shower. There is, however, a design flaw in the way the shower is laid out. Most of the time, you turn the water off, the shower goes off with it. But if you're not careful, the next time you turn on the sink and expect water to come out the faucet, you might get blasted by the shower head instead. (I'm speaking from experience, can you tell?)

I will say the door locks gave us fits when we first moved in. We were given a four-digit combination to open our door. Problem is, when we got to the door, there was no keypad in sight! It took us about five minutes to figure out that you had to go from this...



...to this...



...punch in the combination, then shut the cover again for the door to open. And then on the other side of the door, it looks a bit like this:



The rectangular silver button just above the green switch unlocks the door. While you could just turn the dial at the bottom, pressing the button just makes it seem even cooler, like something out of a sci-fi movie. Makes lock technology in the dorms at 'SC seem pretty lame.

What is rather counter-intuitive, however, is the keycard access to get into the building. While I can understand scanning the card to get in, you also need to scan the card to get out. Which begs the question, why would you need your card to get out when they know you're already in the system? Wouldn't that be how you got into the building in the first place?

And then there's the visitor policy, which makes 'SC seem completely unregulated in that regard (probably because it is). They have a system of demerit points in the building that you can accrue to infractions in and around your hall. Got more than 10 demerits? You are the weakest link, goodbye. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

And you can get halfway there--5 points--simply by bringing a visitor to see your dorm (even if they're family). They didn't say anything about students visiting other students, thankfully--I can only assume that's okay. If they use any part of the dorm property, that's 10 points. If they stay overnight--significant other or not--you're gone. On the bright side, this would also mean that there's very little chance of locking your roommate out of your room whenever you and the significant other want a little "time to yourself." (I mean, it could happen, but given that the walls are pretty thin, you probably wouldn't want to chance it...) Although given that there don't appear to be what we would call RAs on the hall, I can only assume that the system is enforced by what essentially amounts to tattling on the offender(s).

Ladies and gentlemen, Korean dorm life.

Proof That The Sun Actually Exists

Classes started today. In and of itself, that really isn't anything special, especially since it felt like one of those cut-and-dry history classes. But don't listen to me right now, I'm kinda cranky and need some rest. I'll be surprised if I crash now and sleep all the way through the next morning.

But in any event, the sun actually came out for the first time this entire trip! (Not that two days is saying a whole lot, but still...)

Just...take a look. Stark contrast from the day before (these were taken just outside campus)...





And, later in the day, this one taken on top of the giant staircase.


We also got our official welcome wagon today from E-dae, nothing more than just dinner at a fancy restaurant. The culinary snob in me didn't think the food was anything terribly special, although we were rather amused by one particular side dish that tasted really good. The whole time, we had no idea what it was except for the fact that "it's a root of some kind." Take a look, it's the one in the top dish.

From the top and going clockwise: the mysterious root, kimchi, seasoned sesame leaf(?), bamboo shoots, unseasoned sesame leaf

And I mistakenly dumped a spoonful of sugar meant for coffee over the ice cream they gave us, although no one's supposed to know about that...

So I said yesterday that I felt that I hadn't epically failed at speaking Korean, yet. Well, fast forward to today when I meet my grandparents, and you'll discover that any confidence I once had is (was?) now completely gone. To any casual listener (if there were casual listeners), I must've sounded like a 5-year-old with a speech impediment, speaking in sentences too broken to fix. It also doesn't help that I speak very throaty and mumbly Korean, so I sound like someone yelling in a wind tunnel on top of that.

Anyway, I'm not sure I was making any sense at all when I talked to them, yet somehow (depending on what I was talking about) I managed to get through to them on a few things and left them (and me) utterly lost on most others.

But before that...we got a short tour of campus. And while it's much hillier than anything I've ever been used to, it also (to me, anyway) looks like something straight out of a postmodern Hogwarts.

From the castle walls...

...to the Forbidden Forest...

...there's something in the water if I'm making comparisons like that.

Exercises in Improvisation

Our first full day in Korea was spent walking, waiting, and changing plans over and over again. Is it any wonder I feel utterly exhausted at 8:00 pm?

My roommate, Hao-Hua, and I got up at 7 am and took a stroll around the front of Ewha (E-dae for short), where all the little shops and cafes are. The weather still hasn't improved from yesterday at all. It's muggy, rainy, and humid--in short, a meteorologist's worst nightmare. At least when we started walking, it wasn't too bad, though E-dae itself looked pretty spooky in the...fog? Smog? Haze? Whatever you call this:



We had breakfast in a small little cafe, grabbing some kimbap for 1,500 won per roll (less than $1.50!). The inner college students in us went ballistic--cheap food is good, but even better when it's cheap AND delicious at the same time. Even better, I actually spoke Korean competently! Score one for me...

...and then hold on, scratch everything, it's raining cats and dogs outside. Usually this would call for throwing caution to the wind and running for it, but when your destination is further than your sprint can take you AND down a very slippery hill or two, you change gears pretty quickly. My raincoat was soaked by the time we made it back inside.

So originally, we were supposed to take a bus tour of the city, but we called it off due to the weather. Then the plan was to see Transformers 3 at the nearby theater after lunch. But we were all saying, "no one comes all the way out to Korea to watch an American movie." After much waiting around in the subway station for our TA to get our subway passes (I suspect it was about an hour or so), we were--relieved that we finally had something resembling a plan--headed for Dongdaemun.

Of course, this is when the heavens decide to drop buckets of water on our heads, so we rushed into the nearest shopping center to keep dry while we could. While I'm sure the girls were delighted to get some quality shopping time (3 freakin' hours!), the Fantastic Four were...considerably less thrilled. Don't get me wrong, we were interested to see what they had to offer in the men's department. While I can't speak for the other three, I can safely say that I don't want to be caught dead in form-fitting pants, gaudy shoes, shirts with strings of English words that don't make any sense, or any piece of clothing with Angry Birds plastered all over it.

Also of particular note: the lone white man of our Fantastic Four, Matt, nearly gave one of the shopkeepers a heart attack when he spoke Korean to her. Commence hysteric laughter amongst the Americans.

At the top floor of the shopping center, though, was a small arcade tucked away in the corner nearest the movie theater, and Hao-Hua spent 2,000 won more than he was expecting in an effort to break the day's high score on the basketball game. (He did.)

Of course, what would a stay in Korea be without going to a barbeque dinner? This particular place was different from the ones we're used to in Los Angeles--it's basically a buffet. You pick the raw meat you want, take it to your table and cook it. Even the banchan (side dishes) are served buffet-style. Naturally, we all reeked of the stuff after we were done...I felt sorry for the people standing near us in the subway on the way back. It's a wonder the stench didn't kill anybody. Needless to say, when we got back to E-dae, I showered that out of my hair. Too bad I can't do the same with the searing pain in my feet.

Before I go, the obligatory group shot (taken by me, which is why I'm not in this one):

Incoming in Seoul

Not much to write home about, but inquiring minds want to know…

Made it to Seoul. A little sore from the plane ride (12 hours in a middle seat wasn’t exactly what I was looking forward to on the way there) and very much exhausted from the huge internal clock shake-up, but I’m here.

I was looking forward to at least talking with one of the people in our group on the long plane ride over, but ‘twas not to be. We were all over the plane, most of us in middle seats—by the time I checked into the flight, those were all that were left. Somehow my iPod (which didn’t have enough juice to last the flight), my copy of Les Misérables in print, and several of the in-flight games were company enough for the whole 12 hours. I don’t care how long the flight is, but sleeping is completely secondary—I sleep until the first beverage service starts (or shortly thereafter), and then can’t sleep for the rest of the flight.

Hey, I have issues. So what?

Apparently the flight attendants can recognize Korean people, Americanized or not, in an instant (Korean Air, doncha know). So of course, they start speaking to me in Korean right away. While I had some trouble at the check-in counter, I think I fudged my way through it…granted, the only things I had to say were my drink and lunch orders, so…that’s not really saying much. At least I didn’t have to ask them to switch to English, if that’s any consolation.

And they may have been smiling when I refused wine with my lunch, but underneath that polite façade I could easily see them thinking, “Is this guy crazy?” Or whatever the Korean equivalent of that is. “이상은 사람 이지…?” For all I know, I just botched that horribly. More where that came from over the next month, believe me.

We’re staying at Ehwa Womans’ University in Seoul. (For those of you reading, no, that’s not a typo—I’m too tired to explain why.) And from what I can tell in my plane-induced delirious state, it’s as gorgeous as the women who go there. (You can slap me for the lame comparison later.) Apparently it’s coed during the summer, so even the girls in our group (who outnumber the guys roughly 2:1) can go hang out with those guys once they get sick of The Fantastic Four.

Let’s talk about our group for a minute. There’s 10 of us on this trip, including me, but not counting our professor and TA. From what little I remember from our group’s demographics, there are only four guys (whom, as you’ve probably figured out by now, I’ll call The Fantastic Four from here on out). Eight of us are Asian (two of whom, including me, are Korean). One of us hasn’t ever been abroad before this trip. Another did this program last summer, but went to Japan. A couple of people were supposed to go to Japan this summer, but got switched over after a certain earthquake probably left them shouting “Fuk…ushima” for at least a few days. And—if you’ll pardon the way I phrase this—there’s a white guy who knows Korea better than I do. Apparently he even speaks it better than I do.

There’s goal #1 for this trip right there: learn to speak Korean better than the white guy.

From my rather limited interaction with a few of them at the gate, I think we’ve got a pretty good group. Now I just hope I can adjust my internal clock so I’ll be raring to go by tomorrow.

And so it actually happens...

Well. After many months of waiting, it's finally going to be a reality.

I'm off to Korea tomorrow morning, and will be there for an entire month. I plan to chronicle my journey while I'm there (and hopefully won't forget about the actual schoolwork I have to do on top of that), but you can bet there will be at least a few entries, hopefully with pictures, that I'll be putting up here over the next month.

I've been eagerly awaiting this trip for a number of reasons--among them, the fact that I'll get to practice my Korean even more (although I fear I might cower in the back corner once some cunning shopkeeper screws me out of 10,000 won more than I should've paid). I've spent far too long, I think, running away from my culture. Running away from learning the language, the history, the nerve to take that step.

Well, about damn time I took the plunge.

As they say...watch this space!

ICT: Battle Carrot: Chen vs. Takahashi

BATTLE DATA FILE
Japan Original Airdate: 5/27/1994
Episode: 30

The Challenger: Kiyoshi Takahashi, the bronze medalist at the 1992 World Championship of Chinese Cooking. It is the most prestigious competition in China. While he took the bronze, he finished just behind a familiar face in Kitchen Stadium, who took the silver. He's got a sort of vendetta against him, because Chen is 5 years younger than he is.

The Iron Chef: Iron Chef Chinese, Chen Kenichi. Last time out he lost against an Italian mastermind trying to get his life back on track...can he get back on the winning path? He's really up against it today, seeing as this battle will be a revenge match of sorts.

The Battle:

As Chen prepares to take on another chef named Takahashi, we have, once again, actress Mayuko Takata, in full Chinese garb. This is, what, her sixth or seventh battle in the booth? Not that I mind, but still...the only breaks we've had were with Ishinabe and Hashimoto...

And here comes Kaga into Kitchen Stadium, saying that there are many chefs out there who hold a grudge--well, maybe not a grudge, but a sense of rivalry--against his Iron Chefs. After Kaga gives a recap of the competition from 1992, here comes the wizard of Chinese knives, Kiyoshi Takahashi. The man's confident today, and he's aiming to take down one of the Iron Chefs. Three guesses as to which one...

"CHEN KENICHI!" Takahashi cries, pointing a defiant finger at the man who bested him two years ago.

"Today's challenger once created a full course Imperial Chinese Dinner," Kaga begins. "His superhuman blade-work will be revealed today. It would be nice if he could make the time to to show us his decorative work as well. For decorative carving, we must have a certain vegetable." And for once, I can kinda figure out Kaga's cryptic clues, as he rips off the veil and reveals...CARROTS!

And remember: "Eat the meat of the carrots."

Two of the best Chinese chefs in Japan are about to duke it out in a high-stakes grudge match at Kaga's familiar call: "ALLEZ CUISINE!"

These carrots are huge, compared to the ones we're accustomed to seeing in the West. And out of the gate, Takahashi appears to be in a bit of a funk, not knowing what to do...but after setting his carrots down, he quickly grabs some kokkei (silky fowl), which is a Chinese chicken used in medicinal dishes, and makes short work of that.

Chen, meanwhile, is cookie-cutting some carrot cores as Fukui jokes that some of our younger viewers might not be thrilled at the vegetable theme. "I know I wouldn't," he adds.

Takahashi's kokkei is quickly boiling away, while he's breaking down some loquat. He also has a lot of fruit out on his side, while Chen's cored carrots have hit the hot water. He's scoring some others, while Takahashi already has some carrots with the kokkei and loquats in a soup.

Chen's dropping some honey into the carrot cores, perhaps a Chinese take on a French glacer. And as Hattori and Takata argue over whether Takahashi will steam the soup or not (hint: "15-love, Dr. Hattori," Fukui calls), his food processor took some carrots for a spin, perhaps for a sauce later. And Chen's got white peaches on his side...

"Ratcheting up the sweetness quotient--hey, maybe the kids will like it now," Fukui quips.

15 minutes are already gone, as Takahashi has vanilla essence and butter in what appears to be carrot juice in his wok. Chen has something in the steamer, while Takahashi's carrot soup/juice is filling the papayas (laying that on top of some sweet red bean paste).

Flatfish and crabmeat have hit Chen's wok (which confuses the commentators for a bit), and Takahashi's papayas have found the oven. And we discover Chen's peaches (and carrot cores) were in the steamer all along! Those have hit ice water, while Takahashi has his carving knives out...Hattori's calling a pagoda carving.

"But why such a big chopper for this? Style points?" Fukui asks. Hattori replies that a smaller knife would've been too wobbly for the job he's trying to do. And Chen's doing a little carving of his own, but he's now rolling out some dough that already has carrots kneaded in there. And 30 minutes, just like that, are gone!

Takahashi's carrot pagoda is done, as his papayas hit the plates (with a wedge of lemon and cherry just added). And Chen's still trying to find his way around the theme, as he panics over the time call! He's slicing his dough into noodles, while Takahashi has julienned carrots and truffle mixed with truffles and watercress on top.

20 minutes left now, and Chen's noodles have hit the water. Takahashi has dried bean curd on his side, as he chops up some more carrots. And Ohta says Takahashi is in complete control over his dishes, saying, "Heck, I'll start one more!"

Chen is chilling his noodles and, as Fukui puts it, "wokin' and rollin'" with carrots, beef, and garlic sprouts. Takahashi is doing some stir-frying of his own, with some shoestring carrots in his wok (which is flaring up), laying those down on the bean curd.

15 minutes to go, and Takahashi is laying some foie gras in his wok! Chen, meanwhile, has plated his stir-fry from earlier, on top of a nest of shredded carrots.

Foie gras is already down on Takahashi's side, although we don't know what he's going to do with it yet. His yuba spring rolls have hit the oil, while Chen has mini carrots and Shanghai cabbage for...something.

10 minutes left, and now shark's fin on Chen's side (just to decorate, according to Hattori,), but we see the crabmeat and flatfish mixture go down on top of that. He's panicking here, as his noodles aren't yet finished...uh-oh.

Takahashi's spring rolls are down with a sauce on top. and Chen has another soup in the works (with mushrooms). Down goes some meat on top of Takahashi's foie gras, as with some carrots as well. And Chen flips over the shark's fin mixture, much to the amusement of the commentators (warranting a replay, in my opinion...and we get it!). He's laying the Shanghai cabbage on top of that as the 5-minute call is announced...

Takahashi's steamer is open with the silken fowl soup inside (which he plates a little later), while Chen is laying down his carrot cores into martini glasses. And here come his noodles, which aren't too much trouble after all. And we have fire on Takahashi's wok, with less than 2 minutes to go!

1 minute left now, and his carrots have hit the new soup in his wok, while Chen appears to have calmed down a bit as he plates some more soup as the last few seconds are ticking down...Fukui seems to be running out of breath as Takahashi plates his soup at the last second, it's a wonder he can still say...

"Close call, but he makes it, the Carrot Battle is OVAH!"

Takahashi reveals in the postgame interviews that his pagoda is just an accessory. So it will indeed be all by its lonesome over there...something doesn't sound good about that.

Challenger Takahashi's 6 dishes:
--Carrot and Caviar Salad
--Carrot and Shark Fin Soup
--Stir-fried Beef, Foie Gras and Carrots in Black Bean Sauce
--Carrot in Bean Curd
--Silky Fowl and Carrot Soup
--Carrot Pudding in Papaya
--For decorative purposes, the Carrot Chinese Pagoda

Iron Chef Chen's 4 dishes:
--Shark Fin Stew in Carrot Sauce
--Carrot and Noodle Soup
--Stir-fried Carrots and Sirloin, on Fried Carrots
--Carrot Compote

On the panel today for the Carrot Battle are:
--Song Writer Yasushi Akimoto
--Actress Mayuko Takata
--Culinary Critic Asako Kishi

Takahashi's up first, as they sample his salad. Takata likes the pairing of caviar and truffles, while Kishi simply says the caviar's like an accent. So far, so good...I think...

Akimoto can't see the carrots in his soup, while Takata says it's fluffy. And we get the first bit of criticism from Kishi (who else, really?) on his foie gras dish, saying the carrots aren't really center stage. "I think it could've been any vegetable," she adds.

On to the bean curd spring roll, which Takata says is sweet. She's shocked that there's only carrots inside...

...and quickly onto the silky fowl soup! (Are we in a hurry to get through all the dishes or something?) Akimoto says he's already feeling well, after tasting it. And there seems to be a weird edit before they cut to the sampling of the dessert...the only thing that's clear is who I presume to be Akimoto saying "This is good" while Takata's on screen.

Well, they all like that one! And Takata gets the carrot pagoda on her table, which Akimoto jokes is the bill. No bill in this menu-less restaurant...

And now, Chen's turn to face the music.

Akimoto likes the harmony amongst all the ingredients in Chen's first dish, while Kishi says (off-screen) that something's too soft in his second. "You may have waited too long before serving this," Kishi says. Akimoto agrees, although Takata likes it that way.

And while Kishi and Akimoto think Takata's crazy for thinking Chen's beef stir-fry is spicy, Kishi likes the flavor of the carrot nest along with it.

Takata and Akimoto like how the carrots in his dessert don't taste like carrots at all, but like fruit! Transformation, I suppose?

"A rival makes a man stronger," Kaga philosophizes before the verdict. "Please remain good rivals in the years to come."

But now, the verdict. Who takes it? Will it be the Iron Chef or the upstaged senior? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

"Tetsujin, Chen Kenichi!"

Look out, Kitchen Stadium, he's back! Quality, not quantity, was the deciding factor today as Chen gets back on the winning path.

My take: First, on the battle itself: Takahashi did a respectable job as a challenger. However, I do think his time may have been better spent on garnishing some of his dishes with his intricate carvings that Kaga raved about. While this may have meant scrapping a dish or two (he probably could've done without the foie gras dish, as that was a little hastily put together), I do think 1) he would've earned some more presentation points by incorporating his carvings into his dishes, and 2) would've saved him some time to really perfect those other five. Chen, despite not really knowing what he was doing (or at least it sounded like it), did well with his four, although if this were judged on clock management alone Takahashi definitely took the cake.

As for the show as a whole, it seems the polar opposite of the Ishinabe battle--whereas the Ishinabe battle was too slow, now this seems really rushed. While I'm glad half the show doesn't consist of the tasting portion anymore, I'm also a little disappointed that the dishes we see only get maybe one or two judges commenting on it. Maybe it's their own device to keep the judging as even as possible to the home viewer, who knows. But one thing's for sure, that first 15-minute call really sneaks up on you...

Watch this battle at the Iron Chef Collection here.

ICT: Battle Duck: Chen vs. Kimura

BATTLE DATA FILE
Japan Original Airdate: 5/20/1994
Episode: 29

The Challenger: Masatoshi Kimura, a Chinese chef from Chiba who runs his own farm to grow his own vegetables. Many chefs, including Honorary Iron Chef Ishinabe, came from Tokyo to visit him because of that. He occasionally goes to China to learn of the eight styles of Chinese cuisine.

The Iron Chef: Iron Chef French, Hiroyuki Sakai. Last time on the Iron Chef timeline, he defeated the first sushi chef to come into Kitchen Stadium with a fish theme (I guess they don't call him "Fish Sakai" for nothing), and is STILL undefeated in Kitchen Stadium! Can he stay that way?

The Battle:

Actress Mayuko Takata is back in the announcers' booth for this battle.

"The origin of all life is fire," Kaga quotes Herakleitos in his monologue. "And it applies to cooking as well," he continues, saying he promises "performances of fire."

And here comes Kimura into Kitchen Stadium, calmly before his firestorm, as Fukui says. Kaga calls upon his Iron Chefs as usual, and Kimura calls out--no, not Chen, but...SURPRISE! Sakai, for the second week in a row!

"The climate of Chiba is similar to that of Shanghai. Perfect for vegetables," Kaga begins. "I am impressed with the level of professionalism of this man. So, I must give him an ingredient that does justice to his talent. One of the most luxurious ingredients in Chinese cooking."

Luxury + Chinese cooking = swallow's nest? Shark's fin? No...DUCK!

And remember, when in China: "Go north for duck skin, go south for pig skin."

"He IS Chinese cuisine," Fukui says. We'll see how he personifies what the Gourmet Academy usually sees in Iron Chef Chen, as we are ready to blaze with Kaga's familiar call to battle...

"ALLEZ CUISINE!"

Two ducks apiece for each chef, which Hattori says every single part can be used. But Peking duck takes too long for the limitations of this battle, so forget that.

Early goings, of course, consist of breaking down their ducks (with VERY different knives, as Hattori and Takata note). Sakai is going for smaller pieces, perhaps for a soup or duck stock for possible sauces. Kimura's food processor is in action, with what Hattori believes is duck liver--but according to Ohta, it's minced duck meat. He's added other liquids and spices to that, and gives it another spin.

Meanwhile, Iron Chef Sakai is planning on three dishes, one of which will definitely be a soup or stew. And 15 minutes gone already?!

Kimura is smothering yuba bean curd in...well, something white, and dropping shredded shiitake mushrooms and yellow scallions on top. Hattori says he'll roll it up and cut it a bit like rolled sushi, though he drops some very thinly sliced (raw) duck meat on top before folding it. He plans to layer and deep-fry this, so Hattori's sushi guess is way off...

...but he jokes Sakai's thin cut of duck meat will be duck sashimi, which gets Fukui hook, line, and sinker.

Kimura has the beginnings of a crepe in his pan, which Takata guesses is the mysterious paste we saw on the yuba. And Hattori (probably through the English dub) makes a What's My Line? joke..."Will today's mystery paste sign in please?"

Sakai has taken some lightly boiled duck slices out of the water and into ice water. Hattori guesses the anchovy sauce he was working on earlier is to go with that. And we get a shot of his stew pot, which has a slew of vegetables in it.

Kimura is slicing up some prawns on his block, perhaps for a sweet sauce according to Hattori. And as 30 minutes go by, Sakai is chopping some more duck meat...and takes a tiny bit of his thumb with it (emphasis on tiny). Ouch. "Even the high priest makes a slip of the pen," he later quips. Taking it in stride, I suppose. "He's human after all," Takata replies.

Kimura sprints to the pantry and slices--then promptly pulverizes--some ginger. Sakai has the beginnings of a tartare steak on his side (which Fukui misinterprets as tartar sauce). And as Fukui regains his bearings, he comments he thinks he's seen something similar at a Korean BBQ place. This writer thinks he's crazy, as he's never seen anything of that sort there before in his life.

Anyway, back to the action. Kimura has fired up his wok, though the commentators have no idea what Chinese style he's leaning towards. And--uh-oh! Ohta's latest report says his assistants were supposed to thaw out a large brick of shanton soup, but they forgot to do that and are now scrambling to get it in liquid form as quickly as they can. In any event, the wok mixture of prawns and duck are going into the crepes from earlier.

And gimme some skin, Fukui says, as Sakai is deep-frying skins (with Fukui making more terrible skin jokes as the 15-minute call is announced).

Kimura's crepes are taking the form of small dumplings, while Sakai is plating his lightly boiled tartares. And Kimura's mystery paste from the food processor at the top of the battle is heading for...the wok, and some hot water? Hattori says it'll be a soup, though the commentators are skeptical--I guess Hattori managed to talk his way out of that one.

And there he goes over to the pantry again! He looks like he's scrambling, but the Iron Chef now has his "sashimi" into the pan, sizzling away as 10 minutes are left...Hattori figures there'll be a green sauce to go along with that.

And there go the flames on Kimura's wok! And he's just dipping his bare finger into the hot water...how does he not burn himself? Never mind the fact Sakai's doing some more plating on the other side...

Kimura is twice-cooking what looked like Chinese broccoli in his wok, and he's also poured some oil over the dumplings to add some extra heat to them in the steamer. Sakai, meanwhile, is stacking some long onions over the duck "sashimi". And he's got duck legs on a silver platter...the liquid from his stew has been strained.

Kimura's bean curd sandwich is done...almost...he's deep-frying it after all! And Sakai is putting some half-swirls of sauce by the tartares, sticking a piece of cucumber inside that. Kimura's bean curd sandwich is being sliced, and there are just three minutes left in the battle...and Sakai's deep-fried duck skins have gone down next to the tartare.

1 minute left, and Kimura is scrambling as Sakai is plating another sauce on what looked like a salad. 30 seconds left, and Kimura's dumplings and his soup come off the heat. It is smooth sailing to the end for Sakai, Kimura managed to get it all done as...

"THAT'S IT! The cooking's done, the Duck Battle is OVAH!"

Challenger Kimura's 3 dishes:
--Duck Soup
--Duck and Seafood Dumpling
--Fried Duck in Bean Curd

Iron Chef Sakai's 3 dishes:
--Duck Tartare
--Duck Drumsticks in Soup
--Sautéed Duck, Leek Flavor

On the panel today for the Duck Battle are:
--Song Writer Yasushi Akimoto
--Actress Mayuko Takata
--Rosanjin Scholar Masaaki Hirano

Challenger, as always, is up first. Hirano says the soup is light, while keeping the wild taste of the meat.

Hirano calls the color of the dumpling "noble", and the flavor "elegant". Akimoto likes the crispiness.

Finally, the yuba bean curd wrap: Takata says any oiliness she might have perceived is decreased when it's eaten with the lettuce. Akimoto doesn't like it, but doesn't hate it either. Takata is happily munching away at the lettuce while Hirano says the only thing missing was the extra crispiness he wanted. But nothing to worry about, he adds, as it's well balanced.

But Akimoto was waiting to be surprised, whatever that means...

Here comes Sakai's dishes now. The tartare is a first for Kaga, and Akimoto says it's an "adult taste." Well, I wouldn't exactly envision kids eating raw duck meat either...

Hirano launches into more flowery commentary almost reminiscent of the tortuous Chicken Battle tasting session, while Takata likes the mild flavors of the drumsticks and vegetables.

Akimoto likes how he left an element of the gamey smell in his last dish, which Takata likens to knowing the true essence of duck. She's right, this ain't no chicken.

But now, no ducking away from the harsh hammer of culinary justice that must fall on one of these two men...who takes it? Will it be the Iron Chef or the disciple of Chinese cuisine? Whose cuisine reigns supreme?

"Tetsujin, Sakai Hiroyuki!"

And Sakai makes it three in a row! The flames of Chinese cuisine are no match for Sakai's artistry and mastery of the French kitchen. He might not have had much of a clue as to what he was doing, but whatever he did, it worked!

My take: This really could have gone either way, although I feel presentation might have decided this one. One thing's for sure, Kimura's duck soup looked a little boring (borderline...disgusting, judging from the color of the broth). In fact, all three of Kimura's dishes looked a little boring, especially compared to Sakai's. I do think they were relatively dead even on taste, though. Then again, what do I know about that? I'm just writing on it, I haven't actually tasted them.

Watch this battle at the Iron Chef Collection here.